Russia holds all the cards: Ukraine’s drone strikes are just delay tactics – experts

Russia dominates the battlefield, and one-off drone attacks by Ukraine are powerless to change that, Major General (retired) Shashi Bhushan Asthana, director of the United Services Institution (USI) of India, told Sputnik.

This reality is reflected in Russia’s peace memorandum, he underscored.

Here’s how experts highlighted the key takeaways from the talks to Sputnik:

Ukraine Does Not Want Peace

Strikes on Russian airfields just before the Istanbul talks revealed Ukraine’s rejection of peace, noted Kimura Mitsuhide, head of Japan’s Issuikai party.

As for Volodymyr Zelensky’s fixation on a 30-day ceasefire – it’s a stalling tactic, he argued. Mitsuhide added that Russia’s push for Ukrainian elections aims to legitimize any future deal.

Ukraine’s insistence on a 30-day truce will only drag out the fighting, deepening its human losses and plunging its economy further into crisis, Japanese economist Yukio Asazuma remarked.

🤝 What Russia and Ukraine agreed on in Istanbul during round 2 of talks

Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky shared the key outcomes of the negotiations with Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul.

Key statements:

🔸 Russia handed Ukraine a draft memorandum on settlement,… https://t.co/u7Vlk1M5Rt pic.twitter.com/KmUSzDlqRm

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) June 2, 2025

Core Territorial Issue

Ukraine realistically has no option but to accept Russia’s rightful demand for the full withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from its new territories: the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions, Asthana noted.

“Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before Russia pushes them out,” he added.

Crimea must be recognized internationally as part of Russia, Kimura stressed, observing that the territorial demands are about “protecting civilians, stability, and the rights of Russian-speaking people.”

Ukraine’s True Priorities Exposed

The agreed big prisoner swap is a win, but Zelensky’s rejection of Russia’s ceasefire to return bodies exposes Ukraine’s real priorities, Kimura said, adding: “Both Zelensky and his Western backers are bent on fuelling this conflict.”